


Speak Easy

by conceptstage



Series: Single Chapter Critical Role [28]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 16:51:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18898717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: Beau died alone.





	Speak Easy

Beau died alone.

That’s almost the worst part of it. For all that she loved her privacy, she hated being alone. 

“I’d say she’s been dead for three days,” Caduceus said, looking into her dark eyes. “Dehydration. They locked her down here when she wouldn’t give them the information they wanted and left her to die.” He picked up her hand and noted the deep lacerations on her knuckles. They were different from the other interrogation injuries on her body. These were self inflicted from trying to fight her way out.

He looked back at the cell door where the others were gathered. Jester had her hands pressed over her face so that she didn’t have to see Beau’s prone body laying heavily on the stones. Nott stood by her side with a hand on her elbow in comfort, looking up at her with tears on her cheeks. Caleb was on her other side, his face blank and unable to look away. Only Fjord walked away, running his hand through his hair and anxiously licking his lips. Yasha stared ahead at the wall, her face unreadable.

“Can we do anything?” Nott asked. “Is it too late for a spell?”

“It’s not too late, we have time and options. Reviving her now is much more difficult than using Revivify. We’ll need significantly more diamonds than we have right now and three offerings.”

“Offerings? What kind of offerings?” Caleb asked, stepping around Jester and kneeling beside Beau and Caduceus.

“We need to convince Beau’s soul to come back. These offerings are our way of showing that she’s still needed on this plane, that it’s not her time to leave yet. Objects with meaning to her are good, though words work as well.”

“Words?”

Caduceus nodded. “Tell her how much she means to you.” He sighed and used two fingers to close her eyes. “Coming back will not be easy on her either. She’ll need a lot of rest and there may be adverse effects on her mental state.”

“What, like Molly? Will she not remember anything?” Yasha asked, her voice quiet.

Caduceus shook his head. “Not like that. She dehydrated alone, in a small, dark cell after days of torture. I’d be shocked if anyone came back from that without some level of trauma.”

Caleb cursed in Zemnian under his breath and stood swiftly to his feet, pushing his way out the door to pace in the hall. “She should have just told them where I was. She should have just answered them and made it easier on herself.”

Fjord sighed and leaned against the wall. “You know she’d never do that. She’s too goddamn-”

Fjord cut himself off when the man that they had tied up in the hall chuckled. He was in his underwear and secured with his arms behind him but he smirked like a man with the upper hand. “So the bitch croaked. Good riddance.”

No one saw Jester move but they heard her cry of rage. “Aggggh!” she screamed in anger and pain as she marched over to him and punched him across the face. Her fist was lined with crystals of ice and the tears streaming down her face froze in place. He crashed to the ground and Jester stomped down on his chest. Caleb heard the bones crack under her heel from across the hallway.

“Jester-” he exclaimed.

Fjord rushed over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, we need to question him.”

“We have Speak With Dead!” she said, kicking him again, this time in the stomach.

Yasha stepped forward and lifted her up off the ground. She kicked and struggled but Yasha held her fast and moved her away. “I know, Jester,” she said quietly. “If anyone here understands how you feel, it’s me. But Beau wouldn’t want you to kill someone in cold blood like this. You know that.”

Ice started to spread across Jester’s cheeks and up into her hair. The skin that Yasha was touching felt like frigid water but she held on. “It hurts so much!” Jester yelled, her entire body relaxing in Yasha’s arms with a sob.

“I know, Jester. I know. I’m sorry.”

Caduceus stepped out of the cell and gave Jester a calm smile. “Let’s get her out of here and we can start working on bringing her back, alright?”

The ice started drifting off of Jesters skin, gathering at Yasha’ feet like snow, and she nodded. “Yeah,” she mumbled, her voice wet and strained. She could see Beau’s body over Caduceus’ shoulder, her face more peaceful that it had ever been in life. “Yeah, let’s take her home.”

 

They appeared in the library in a flash of light. The Transportation Circle was still glowing as they set to work at their various tasks. Yasha carried Beau up to the room she and Jester shared and Caduceus followed.

“Okay,” Jester said, turning out her coin purse on the desk. “We need at least 500 gold worth of diamonds. We have 25 gold worth right now.”

Caleb and Nott gathered around her, also turning out their coin purses. “We will need more than 500 gold. This many diamonds, this rushed? There will be markups.”

“We’ll pay it,” Nott asserted and he nodded.

“I know, I just wanted to be prepared.”

Fjord started marching the prisoner to the war room for questioning. “Caleb, you gonna join me?”

“In a moment,” he said, absentmindedly, as he counted out coins. “100 platinum. That should be more than enough. Do you know where to go?”

Jester bit her lip. “I know one jewelry shop but I don’t know if they’ll have enough.”

“Maybe she’ll know where we can get more?” Nott suggested.

“Maybe. Let’s hurry.”

They all left the library together, Caleb heading for the war room once they hit the hallway and Jester and Nott for the door. Nott opened the door to leave but Jester froze in the foyer. “Can I… Can I go see her really quick?”

Nott smiled and nodded. “I’ll wait here.”

Jester hurried up the stairs to their room and threw open the door. Caduceus was sitting in a chair beside the bed but he smiled and stood up when she stepped into the room. Jester looked around and spotted Yasha standing guard in the corner to her left. “Can I... talk to her? Alone?”

Yasha and Caduceus exchanged a look and he nodded, stepping passed her into the the hall with Yasha behind. Jester shut the door quietly behind them. She sighed and looked over Beau’s body in the flickering torch light. She sat beside her and almost reached out to touch her but paused. She’d been putting this off. She hadn’t touched her at all in the cell because she knew that if she felt Beau’s cold, lifeless skin, it’d be real. 

She took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers around Beau’s wrist. She knew that there wouldn’t be a pulse but tears welled up in the corners of her eyes anyway. She sniffled and tried to think of something to say, but any words just got caught in her throat. Instead, she brought Beau’s hand to her mouth and gently kissed the backs of her scarred, torn knuckles. She tried to talk again but nearly choked on the words when there was a knock on the door.

“Jester?” Caduceus said gently through the wood. “I don’t mean to rush you, but the longer she stays like this the harder it will be for her to readjust when she comes back.”

Jester cleared her throat and stood , reluctantly releasing Beau’s hand to fall back to her side. “I’m going to bring you back,” she whispered. “I promise.”

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and hurried back down meet Nott at the front door.

 

“Out of business?!” Nott exclaimed, reading the sign on the jewelry shop door. Jester tried to peek in the windows but the building was empty. “Where the fuck are we supposed to find diamonds now?”

Jester frowned as she looked around. “Essik might know,” she said, catching Nott’s eyes. “I could call him.”

Nott frowned. “I don’t know… who knows if he would be willing to help us revive someone? I don't know what their religion says about that sort of thing.”

“Maybe I won’t tell him right away what it’s for?”

“You’re asking for a very specific amount of diamonds. He’s going to figure it out, he’s not stupid.”

Jester pouted and crossed her arms. “Then you figure out what to do!”

Nott crossed her arms and started pacing around in front of the door. “Fine! Call him then! But be… vague.”

Jester nodded and quickly cast Sending. “Hello, Shadowhand Essik,” she started, counting her words on her fingers. “This is Jester. We have a bit of an emergency and were wondering if you could come meet us somewhere in town.”

Nott gave her a thumbs up and Jester nodded, waiting silently for the response.

_ ‘Certainly. I’ll meet you at the Dim’s Inn in ten minutes.’ _

“Dim’s Inn,” Jester said, starting in that direction. They walked through town to the Inn where they first stayed when they arrived and got a secluded table near the back. The cartending was giving them curious looks but didn’t bother them. They only had to wait a few minutes for Essik to arrive and glide to their table. 

He gave them a diplomatic smile and took a seat across the table for them. “What emergency? Is someone hurt?”

Jester and Nott exchanged a glance. “We need diamonds.” A look of understanding crossed Essik’s face but Jester hurriedly continued. “We don’t expect them for free or anything!” She pulled out the purse of platinums. “That’s twice what the diamonds are worth. The jewelry store that we were going to buy from is closed and we dont- we weren’t sure- we need-”

“Dear Jester,” Essik said. “Breathe, you’re going to hyperventilate. Your friend would not be pleased to come back and find you this way. I will certainly help you acquire the necessary diamonds.”

Jester took a breath in through her nose so deeply that her back arched, then she let it out slowly through her mouth. “Th-Thank you… Thanks.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then got to his feet. “Come then. Beauregard is not the patient sort, is she?”

 

Caleb stood to the side and just watched Fjord work. “Where is Trent?” he asked, his voice low. The man looked away and didn’t answer. Fjord reached for his hand and bent his pointer finger back painfully. “You fond of this finger? Feel keen on using it again someday? Answer me. We knew that he was at the interrogation site with the monk. Where did he go from there?” The man still didn’t answer. Fjord pushed harder in his finger until it cracked and popped. The man started grinding his teeth. “One last chance, friend.”

“Fuck you.”

Fjord shoved the finger back violently and felt it break under his thumb. The man started to scream and squirm in his chair. “See, this is the kind of shit that happens when we ask nicely and you spit it back in our face. Let’s try again.” He started pushing back the next finger in line. “Where is Trent?”

“I don't know!” he exclaimed. “He didn’t talk to me! He didn’t talk to anybody but the girl! He showed up, forced his way into the interrogation room and dealt with her alone for a few hours and then he fucked off. She was nearly dead when he left, we had to use clerics to keep her alive so we could ask her more questions.”

Fjord and Caleb exchanged a glance. Caleb nodded. He was telling the truth as far as Caleb could tell. Something occurred to him then and he felt sick to his stomach. “You have this under control?” he asked, starting towards the door. “There’s something I need to check.”

“I’ve got this,” Fjord said, shoving the second finger back hard. Caleb shut the door to block out the screams.

Caleb walked to Beau’s room and knocked on the closed door. It opened and he stepped inside, giving Yasha a brief nod. “Yasha, could I speak to Caduceus for a moment?” he asked, moving to sit on Jester’s bed. 

Caduceus barely looked up from where he laying out the various incense he’d need to pull this off. “What can I help you with, Caleb?” he asked when they were alone.

“Would Speak With Dead interfere with a Raise Dead spell?”

Caduceus froze and and stared at Caleb until his match started licking at his fingertips. He shook it to put it out. “It shouldn't. You want to Speak with Beau?”

“Not if you think it’s going to keep her from being revived.”

“Why not just wait for her to brought back to ask your questions?”

Caleb hesitated and started twisting his hands in his lap. “Trauma. You said that there would be trauma related to her torture. What I know of trauma is that it can sometimes cause… memory gaps. People forget their harrowing experiences in order to deal with them. I have certain gaps in my own memory for the same reason. It’s possible that she may know of Trent’s designs and if she wakes, traumatized-”

“She could forget what she knows.” Caduceus was quiet for a moment. “It shouldn’t cause a problem with the spell. I can’t see why it would. But you must understand… there are ethical questions to consider.”

“I won’t ask her anything that I know for a fact she wouldn’t answer if she were alive. All I want to know is about what Trent might have told her when he had her in a room alone.”

Caduceus hesitated but then nodded. “If you’re sure. I can do it.”

“I’m not sure. But do it anyway.”

The incense was already lit and filling the room with smoke, so Caduceus just quickly cast the spell. The smoke from the burners started to move towards Beau’s body and her chest rose like she was breathing it in. There was only a beat of time before she started to rise up into a sitting position, her eyes still closed and her arms still slack at her side.

Caduceus and Caleb exchanged a glance. Caleb licked his lips nervously and cleared his throat. “I am sorry about this Beauregard,” he whispered. “What happened when Trent Ikithon came to see you?”

Her eyes snapped open and stared at him blankly.  _ “Tell me where to find Bren. Fuck you.” _ Her head snapped to the side violently as if she’d been slapped. It wasn’t exactly her voice speaking to them, and for that he was thankful. The voice was deep and smoky. She suddenly laughed and Caleb shivered at the foreboding sound.  _ “Do your worse, old man. You’ll have to kill me first.” _ Her head snapped the other way.  _ “Tell me now! Or I will lock you away and throw away the key! Never! They’re going to kill you, you fucking piece of shit!” _ Beau's hands suddenly flew up to her own throat and the sounds of choking turned Caleb’s stomach.

“Stop!” The voice stopped abruptly and the eyes turned back to meet his, her hands falling into her lap like weights. Caleb’s hands shook as he brushed them through his hair, pushing his curls out of his face. He let out the breath he’d been holding and his voice quivered when he spoke. “Did he tell you where he was going to go after he left?”

The next words out of the body’s mouth were muffled like they’d been heard through a door.  _ “Put her in holding and forget about her. Send someone by in a couple of weeks to clean up the mess. I’m heading to the Shadowed Garden to meet with the Mistress, if you learn anything send it to me there.” _

“Where is the Shadowed Garden? Did anyone give you any clues?”

_ “I hate the place. Always so fucking rainy and you can’t see shit in that fog. How is it always so goddamn fucking foggy? I’m glad I’m not going this time. Someone pick up her legs, help me carry her down to holding. Yeah, yeah, I’m coming. Oh shit- she was faking! Someone stop her before she gets out! Agh-” _ Beau’s purpling mouth snapped shut.

Caleb and Caduceus shared another look. “Someplace that is constantly foggy and rainy…” Caleb mumbled. “And who is the Mistress, did anyone talk about the Mistress?”

_ “Have you ever seen the Mistress? Once. From afar. What did she look like? … Everything. She looked like everything.” _

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Caleb grumbled. He sighed and shook his head. “That’s all. Can you end the spell early?”

Before Caduceus would answer, Beau did. Caleb jumped at the unexpected noise.  _ “No.” _ Her eyes fell closed once more and the smoke left her body like an exhalation. Caleb rushed forward to hold her shoulders and slowly lower her to the bed.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Caduceus… I will tell Beau of this when she wakes up. If she gets angry, I don’t want you to be in the crossfire. She will decide how to tell everyone what we learned. Until then, let’s keep this between the three of us.”

Caduceus nodded and started fixing the blanket the covered Beau. “Agreed.” He was quiet for a moment and Caleb didn’t move to leave. “She fought so hard,” he muttered. “Even when she knew she was going to die.”

Caleb rose to his feet. “ _ Especially _ when she knew she was going to die.” Then he left the room.

 

Jester rushed in through the front door, holding a sack of diamonds with Nott close on her heels. Essik arrived a moment later, because he was too dignified to rush.

“Everyone! Everyone we’re ready!” she called at the top of her voice. She hurried up the stairs and nearly crashed into Fjord in the hallway. “Fjord! Everyone to my room, we have the diamonds!”

He nodded and stepped aside to let her run by. He nodded to Essik as the man stepped up beside him. “Shadowhand,” he muttered in greeting.

“Mr. Tough.”

Fjord opened his mouth to retort but decided it wasn’t worth it and just cleared his throat. “We have a prisoner you may be interested in. Once this is over.”

Caleb met Jester at the door to the bedroom and pushed the door open. “We’re good to go? Shall we do this?”

He looked at Caduceus, who was looking at Jester. “Are we?” he asked her.

Jester took a deep breath and nodded, moving over to stand at Beau’s bedside. She dumped the diamonds out on her stomach and chest. “Who brought offerings?” she asked, gently brushing some hair out of Beau’s face.

“Me,” Nott said first, shimmying her way to the front of he pack while she rooted around in her pocket. She pulled out the jade bracelet that Beau had given her shortly after they left Zadash and sat it beside her hip. “You don’t get to keep it,” she told Beau. “It’s important to me because it was the first gift anybody ever gave this little goblin girl. You can use it for a while though.” She sniffled and wiped her nose as she stepped away.

Jester nodded. “I’ll be offering something for her too.” But she didn’t make a move for her pockets. “One more person?”

“I-” Caleb started, then he nervously cleared his throat. “I have something I would like to say to her.”

Jester took a deep breath and started doing idly stretches like she was gearing up to exert herself. “Then I think we’re ready.” She waved her hands over Beau’s body and her fingers started to glow. The diamonds shattered into dust and started floating up above Beau’s body.

Nott picked up her bracelet and sat it on Beau’s stomach where the diamonds used to rest. “Come back. Please,” she whispered.

Jester looked at Caleb next and he nodded, stepping forward to stand beside her. “You are…” he had to pause when his voice shook. “You are my sister. Not in blood, but it every way that matters, you are my sister. And I need you right now. The world is dark and cruel and lonely but… it is a little bit brighter with you around.” He reached out and took her hand and Nott laid hers over top of his, squeezing comfortingly when he caught her eye.

“My turn…” Jester mumbled. She leaned forward until her face was right beside Beau’s face and kissed her cheek. “Beau, we can’t do this without you.” And she didn’t just mean taking on Trent. She meant everything, all of it. Everything that came with living in this world, but she wasn’t sure how to say it in a way that made sense. She trusted that Beau knew what she meant anyway. “I love you, so much. Please come home?”

She reached out and laid her hand over Nott’s and Caleb’s. Fjord was next to take their joined hands and then Caduceus laid his large, furry hand on top. “Come on, Kiddo,” he whispered, smiling softly. Yasha was last, wrapping her fingers around Beau’s wrist supportively and saying more with her touch than she ever could with words.

They all watched her in silence as their heart beats pounded against their chests. For a moment, there was no movement and Caleb was terrified that Speaking to her had interfered with the resurrection.

But then her back arched off the bed and she sucked in a deep breath. She threw herself over, ripping her hand free to cough and spit over the side of the bed. “Water,” she gasped, before tumbling heavily towards the floor.

Yasha and Jester both swept forward to catch her before she hit the ground and laid her back on the bed, crying with joy as she strained to breathe.

“I’ll fetch the water,” Essik said, giving them a kind smile. “Then I’ll take the prisoner and my leave. I’ll inform the Queen that you’ll need a few day to recover before coming to you with any missions.”

Caleb nodded his thanks and then turned back to watch Beau’s pale, gray skin turn more vibrant and brown.

 

“Caleb… Caleb!”

Caleb hissed out in surprise as he woke and pressed himself up against the wall. “ _ Wo- Du bist-! _ ” he exclaimed.

“Hey, hey… It’s just me.”

He blinked in the darkness as everything started to become clear. “Beauregard? What are you doing up, you should be resting.”

“It’s too...” she hesitated. “Would you sit up, I feel like an idiot talking to you like this.” She stepped away from the bed, wobbling and catching herself on the post, and waited until he was sitting up on the mattress. “It’s too dark. In my room. I woke up from a dream and I thought I was… Well, in any case, it’s too dark.”

“Light a torch.”

“It’s not enough.”

He blinked at her tiredly. “Beau, I am happy to help you get through this, but I need you to tell me what I can do.”

She bit her lip and looked away. “How… How long would it take to teach me a spell? Is that possible, can I learn?”

He frowned, curious. “That depends on the spell. The more powerful the spell the longer it will take. If you learn multiple spells you will eventually need a spell book to remember them all.”

“Just one spell. A cantrip.”

He considered this. “A few hours?”

“But it’s possible?”

“Of course. What spell?”

She bit her lip like she was embarrassed. “Dancing lights.”

He tried to meet her eyes but she kept looking away. “That is a simple one. I could teach it to you tonight if you want. Why this spell?”

“No reason.”

Caleb sighed. “Beau… you have been through a terrible ordeal. There is no shame in afraid.”

“I’m not afraid, it’s just the dark. I haven’t been scared of the dark since I was a kid, I’m not a fucking baby. It’s just…” She took a deep breath in through her nose and let the sentence trail off. “I just want to learn dancing lights. Will you teach me or not?”

He pulled his spell book out from under his pillow and pat the bed beside him. “Come on. Sit down and we will get started.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dead Easy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19216450) by [conceptstage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage)




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